Bacterial constituents of indoor air in a high throughput building in the tropics.

Airborne bacteria are significant biotic constituents of bioaerosol. Bacteria at high concentrations in the air can compromise indoor air quality (IAQ) and result in many diseases. In tropical environments like Malaysia that extensively utilize air-conditioning systems, this is particularly significant due to continuous recirculation of indoor air and the potential implications for human health. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the impact of airborne bacteria on IAQ in Malaysia. This study was prompted by a need for reliable baseline data on airborne bacteria in the indoor environment of tropical equatorial Malaysia, that may be used as a reference for further investigations on the potential role played by airborne bacteria as an agent of disease in this region. It was further necessitated due to the threat of bioterrorism with the potentiality of release of exotic pathogenic microorganisms into indoor or outdoor air. Before scientists can detect the latter, a gauge of the common microorganisms in indoor (as well as outdoor) air needs to be ascertained, hence the expediency of this study. Bacterial counts from the broad-based and targeted study were generally in the order of 10(2) colony-forming units (CFU) per m(3) of air. The most prevalent airborne bacteria found in the broad-based study that encompassed all five levels of the building were Gram-positive cocci (67.73%), followed by Gram-positive rods (24.26%) and Gram-negative rods (7.10%). Gram-negative cocci were rarely detected (0.71%). Amongst the genera identified, Kytococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Leifsonia sp., Bacillus sp. and Corynebacterium sp. predominated in indoor air. The most dominant bacterial species were Kytococcus sedentarius, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus. The opportunistic and nosocomial pathogen, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was also discovered at a high percentage in the cafeteria. The bacteria isolated in this study have been increasingly documented to cause opportunistic infections in immuno-compromised patients, sometimes with fatal outcomes. Furthermore, some of them are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Hence, we propose that indoor reservoirs of these bacteria and their associated clinical and more subtle health effects, if any, be investigated further.